


Sokka, a nosey pupil

by Raffobaffo



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Dances, During Canon, Fire Nation Folklore, Fluff, Humor, M/M, One Shot Collection, Post-Canon, Snooping Sokka, Traumatized Sokka, cactus juice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 18:13:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11903397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raffobaffo/pseuds/Raffobaffo
Summary: Sokka decides he wants to see Piandao's works and snoops in his things.Sokka regrets snooping in his master's private (love) life.Two months later regret is replaced by enthusiasm, all while dancing around a bonfire.(then he proceeds in pulling a prank on Piandao. Or better, not really on Piandao)





	1. In Shu Jing

**Author's Note:**

> I have no explanation. Thank you [randomnickname](https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomnickname) for betaing!

If you asked Sokka, he'd say it was completely justified. See, after having his master teach him things like painting and calligraphy, even if they were preparatory for fighting, his curiosity was natural: he'd wanted to know what kind of stuff Piandao produced.

While his master had gone out to sell some of his swords in Shu Jing, and Aang, his sister and Toph were messing somewhere in the courtyard, Sokka had gone snooping in Piandao's chambers. Well, he didn't care about, say, his bed and his mundane stuff, he was just looking for painting and poetry.

Luckily Fat was keeping an eye on the gang; Sokka was sure no one would catch him. If only someone had stopped him before the deed, if only. The crisis could have been adverted. 

 

Piandao's taste in interior design was pretty simple and balanced, not trying to impress. After meddling for a while, Sokka had found a stack of fine paper in one of the many drawers, situated in a nearly empty chamber. 

He found almost only sketches, realistic and detailed, but with a natural feeling and a grace that most of the time wasn't in the subject. Piandao seemed to find grace in everything anyway.

Among the many sketches, many of which were landscapes, there was a man who appeared to be a recurring subject. In the first picture, he was depicted from behind, showing a back full of scars. In the others, his face could be seen: prominent cheekbones, narrow eyes, a permanent frown, and a messy, dark topknot. Very Fire Nation, indeed. Maybe the grim expression was mandatory for Fire Nation inhabitants.  
But somehow, that face was strangely familiar. Probably just an impression, thought Sokka.  
There was something that abashed him: the sketches seemed almost _sensual_ , even if the subject seemed the exact contrary of that definition. At least to Sokka.  
That man was probably a fellow soldier from the years in which Piandao served for the Fire Nation military. Had his master been enrolled in the Army or in the Navy? Sokka didn't know.

He moved on, searching for poetry. He had seen Piandao's writing: his characters were very beautiful, but reading the local calligraphy wasn't that easy for Water Tribe folks. Still, he wanted to try. After Sokka's haiku adventure in Ba Sing Se, he had taken up quite an interest in poetry.

He found some in another drawer. The written pieces were actually quite similar to the sketches: elegant and refined form, ordinary subject. And there was still the recurrent subject, that mystery man. As Sokka read, he confirmed his suspicion: he was indeed a fellow Navy soldier. There was never a name associated to him. Only a pronoun. What a strange thing, but then, it was poetry. Many of those were innocent, descriptions of a companion, and often enriched with peculiar metaphors. A bit too peculiar. Like, once they started to involve roses, wine, poison, Sokka got suspicious. And once he found a series of haikus with undone uniforms and _other stuff_ , Sokka got spooked.

Sokka should have been satisfied then. He had found sketches and poetry. What else did he need to know?

But his instincts told him that no, he wasn't finished yet, and that common sense wasn't relevant to Idea Guys. And who was he not to trust his instincts? That is why he continued to meddle in Piandao's stuff. And that is why he opened the others drawers, finding letters.

Love letters.

_Signed letters_.

 

Suddenly, the familiarity of the man in the sketches became clear: a much younger and less wrinkled (but not less frowning) Jeong Jeong was judging him in his ink form from the fine paper.  
Sokka was sure he could never look into Piandao's eyes again. He quickly put everything back into place and ran down the stairs on quivering legs.


	2. Two months and a Fire Lord later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [randomnickname](https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomnickname) again for betaing, chapter inspired by this [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7f7qDT07Mw), which didn't get used in the final version of Avatar.

The days following Zuko's coronation were a succession of festivities. Even the Fire Nation inhabitants rejoiced - war time had been terrible for everyone. The people in Caldera, a mix of Fire Nation citizens and liberated prisoners, were happy to feast. It was a short rest before going back to the real hard work, getting the world in balance again. 

The Fire Sages had awaited the arrival of Prince Iroh following Zuko's request. After the ceremony, Iroh had told his nephew he had business in Ba Sing Se, but he had been obligated by the Avatar to remain for a bit with them to feast. And so he did, and so did his White Lotus friends who had come with him. 

Time was spent leisurely, the guests enjoying the food and idleness that wasn't possible before. A big fire had been established near the lake next to the palace, and at night some people picked up instruments and started playing, while others started to dance around the fire.

Tall lights bounced on the water, creating beautiful patterns; it was a sight worth painting, in another moment. The air was sweet and warm in the darkness, with a melancholic tinge of breeze forewarning the arrival of the fall. The spicy food smelled nice, but many Watertribe folks couldn't eat it: they just weren't used to the seasoning.

Piandao was watching Sokka and his girlfriend dancing side by side with a smile. Sokka was getting all the steps wrong. It was a simple Fire Nation folk dance, but it was easy to be mistaken, especially at the beginning. The girl, whose name he didn't catch, was new to the dance too, but she was more graceful in her mistakes.  
It wasn't as if anyone payed attention to the accuracy of the dance anyway, since the alcohol worsened many of the dancers' abilities. The musicians were affected too: the intonation was getting gradually worse as the rhythm sped up.

Next to him sat the boy's father, Hakoda. They had exchanged a few words regarding Sokka, no more. Sokka left the circle all of a sudden to approach both of them.

“Master Piandao, dad! Would you like to join us?” he asked with a smile.

Hakoda chuckled. “Are you really going to ask me to dance a Fire Nation dance? Ceasing the rivalry is one thing, but this is still a bit too much for now.”

“It's ok, dad. But what about you Master? You don't have such an excuse!”

“Alright, alright. I can do more than join you, I can teach you the right moves,” Piandao smiled, watching Sokka scratch his head, self conscious. “Let me get my partner, maybe I can get him to stop brooding.” He stood up, looking around.

“Your what?!” 

The shock on Sokka's face was slightly off. He wasn't particularly good at acting unaware, but Piandao didn't pay attention to this detail. He didn't pay attention to the fact that he found his sketches and his pieces of poetry in a mess either.

“Sokka?” he overheard the girl ask, slightly alarmed.

“I didn't do anything!” Sokka said, panicking, clearly guilty.

“I can see through your bullshit Sokka, you can't lie to me-” the rest of the words were too muffled, by distance or by physical restriction, to be understood.

He approached Jeong Jeong, who was sitting by himself, as far away as possible from the fire, still without isolating himself. Even here the crisp air didn't soften the lively atmosphere.

“May I have the pleasure of dancing with you?” he asked, extending his hand to the sitting man. 

Jeong Jeong's eyebrows rose in surprise. He glanced at Piandao before taking his hand with a suppressed smile.  
As they made their way to the fire, rigorously detached, Piandao saw Sokka elbowing in excitement the girl.

“I never thought I'd live to see this day!” was the enthusiast exclamation the boy came up with, earning a disgruntled scoff from Jeong Jeong.

As he approached the young couple, Piandao started speaking. 

“Look, it's done this way: you begin with your arms bent like-”

“You didn't rope me in your teaching lessons, did you? Because I don't want to have anything to do with your pupils,” Jeong Jeong's grim expression and low tone disquieted Sokka, but Piandao reassured him immediately.

“He loves to complain, he's not serious. I think he actually enjoys this,” he said ignoring the incoming protests. “You don't have to touch your partner, it's all based on mirroring the movements. Here, watch me. And you, collaborate.”

After replicating their movements for a bit, Sokka and his amused girlfriend rejoined the circle, forgetting about the other two.

“You'd better hope the new Fire Lord changes the laws in regards of homosexuality, otherwise we just did something very hasty,” Jeong Jeong said, looking at him with an unreadable expression.

“Just for dancing together? Isolation messed up your conception of reality, dear. Anyway, I doubt anyone would care at the moment. If you haven't been arrested for desertion, they surely won't bother with something like this,” Piandao took a dramatic pause, before grinning. “And Iroh would never let his nephew imprison us for our relationship. Just look at his face.”

“He- what?!” Jeong Jeong turned abruptly, and groaned in disappointment at the sight of the general's beaming face.

“My friends, I am so happy to see you enjoying yourselves here, together,” Iroh said, placing some emphasis on the last word. “Would you like to join the rest of us for some tea? Unless, of course, I misunderstood the warning signs of an incoming Jeong Jeong brooding session.”

Piandao didn't hold back the laugh. 

“Why am I even here!?” Jeong Jeong said with fake exasperation.

Piandao smiled, leaned down and silenced his bickering with a quick kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unrelated, but if you like the ship and you like stupid jokes like me, check out this extremely stupid [comic](http://abstractingwords.tumblr.com/post/164790197190/navy-misadventures-gross-well-i-dont-think) I did that takes place around 20 years before (warning: nsfw text)


	3. Cactus juice flim-flammery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Done for Avatar World Week 2017, following the same prompt.

“Just give him this the next time you don’t know how to handle him. You can try once, and if it isn’t what you’re looking for, you’ll tell me.”

“Thank you, Sokka.” 

 

“Do you want some tea?” Piandao asked with a kind smile before handing a cup to a grumbling Jeong Jeong.

As much as he disliked his pupil prying in his personal affairs, Piandao was thankful for his help. Sokka had witnessed a _peculiar_ change when he had come to visit his home after the comet: the new fellow occupant wasn't exactly meek and peaceful.

But the boy was resourceful and decided to lend his master a hand by giving him some sort of magical sedative he had found during his travels. Piandao knew Sokka was smart, curious, and responsible in his own way. He also knew that Sokka was a prankster, but he didn't think he would be concerned by such trait.  
Following Sokka's instruction, he had used this dubious, vegetable-generated, passionately recommended water to make some tea.   
Correction: to make Jeong Jeong's tea. He didn't need any sedative. He didn't try to set the house on fire. Or himself on fire. He didn't need a sedative. Jeong Jeong did, indeed, need a sedative, especially now that they had a guest and didn't need to, how to say, burn him. 

“Thank you”, said Jeong Jeong accepting the cup. They sipped their tea in silence, Piandao inconspicuously monitoring Jeong Jeong's movements. After a short time, he got up and went to look for Fat, already feeling lighter and carefree.

Then he heard a strange sound, like a thud. A gurgle followed. He rushed back in the room where it came from.

A very surreal show unraveled in front of him: Jeong Jeong was crawling on the floor and pressing his forehead in earnest to the ground.

“Wha- Jeong Jeong?!”

The man raised his head towards Piandao’s voice and grinned from ear to ear like never before.

“Piandao”, he answered, dreamy, pronouncing his name as if it was a melody, tasting it on the tip of his tongue and taking longer than necessary to say it all.

“Why are you on the floor?

“I fell. I can’t get up because i have no legs” Jeong Jeong said, looking mildly inconvenienced.

“Excuse me? What is the meaning of this?” Every second that passed left Piandao more puzzled than before. Then, he realized. “Sokka. What was that thing?!”

He hoisted Jeong Jeong by grabbing his arms, but it backfired when he latched onto his chest in response. 

“Fat! Could you call me Sokka please?” he yelled to reach the servant, who was in another room. He heard Fat coming towards them.

“Oh Piandao, you smell so good” were the audible words coming from Jeong Jeong, clinging to him in a crushing vise. Piandao tried to peel him off of himself, but he failed.   
Jeong Jeong was breaking his own strict law of never touching anyone – but especially Piandao- with someone else around. Still, that thing wasn't really Jeong Jeong, so maybe this didn't count.

“Oh Piandao, I just want your d-”, at that point Piandao directly shoved his hand in Jeong Jeong's mouth and shot Fat a quick apologetic glance that was met by a very knowing look.

“I'll just pretend I didn't hear anything. Do you need help, master?”

“Could you fetch me Sokka please?” Piandao asked, wheezy for the struggle and for the embarrassment.

 

It turned out to be a very bad idea. Once Sokka got there, he broke in a loud laugh and couldn't help at all. He just told Piandao it was going to last for some hours. Those were some long hours.

“In my defense, it didn't give me this effect!” Sokka still hadn't stopped laughing about it. Judging by his words, this had been a disproportionate revenge for being called “an oaf” when he first had met Jeong Jeong.

“You're telling me it didn't turn you, a teen, into, uh, _that_ , and instead it did it to a sixty-years old man? Something's not right.” 

"Is he still giving you the silent treatment, master?" Sokka put down the tea kettle in front of him and poured a pair of cups for both of them.

"Yes, he is. And I understand perfectly. You don't know him, but he has always been a very proud man. If you pull him a stunt like that..."

Piandao sipped his tea. It tasted different. Very quenchy.

 

Oh. Oh no.


End file.
